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I have not sailed in an aft cabin on Britannia but have sailed in aft cabins on other ships and yes soot can be a problem. I don't think that you can ever guarantee no soot. All that said Britannia is a lovely ship and I would go for it. Ask your steward to leave you a supply of cloths in order that you can sort the problem quickly. Our next cruise is an aft cabin on the former P&O Adonia soon to sail as Azamara Pursuit! Enjoy

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The problem is still there, worse than it was when we travelled in 2015 although that could have been caused by the prevailing weather conditions. There is now a cleaning regime in order to try and control the issue (which doesn’t really make much of a difference)

The fabrics on furniture are very dirty/almost unusable and there is corrosion from fall out on the metal furniture.

As regards to doing a diy clean up, the staff wear a face mask and gloves. Google what they are cleaning up and you will understand why. Really not a good idea to get the fuel residue onto your skin or breathe it in if you can help it.

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I have not sailed in an aft cabin on Britannia but have sailed in aft cabins on other ships and yes soot can be a problem. I don't think that you can ever guarantee no soot. All that said Britannia is a lovely ship and I would go for it. Ask your steward to leave you a supply of cloths in order that you can sort the problem quickly. Our next cruise is an aft cabin on the former P&O Adonia soon to sail as Azamara Pursuit! Enjoy

A few cloths would not sort the problem! That’s very misleading advice and, as you say, you haven’t sailed in an aft cabin on Britannia. We have and never again. Shame as we love the ship and love being at the aft, but the two are not a marriage made in heaven on Britannia.

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Don’t be put off Britannia. She is a lovely ship and has the best facilities in the fleet by a mile. The cabins are also modern and with great facilities. Again, best in the fleet. BUT I would advise anybody do NOT book an aft cabin on her. We did a 2 week Med Cruise in an aft corner suite (F deck) and never again. Search the forum and you will find several threads on this. Also check out my review.

The soot is a major problem. It doesn’t deposit daily - it depends on atmospherics and wind direction (some days one side gets it, another day the other side). Cabin stewards hose the balcony down daily but it doesn’t remove it all. It marks your clothes and body and you end up walking it in to your cabin. It’s nigh on impossible to remove. On occasion, you can also smell the smoke and it’s very acrid. They have fitted ‘scrubbers’ to the exhaust but it has made no difference.

We also experienced severe vibration (with multiple associated rattles), noise from the Live Lounge (even though we were two decks above it) and, worst of all, the plumbing room for several cabins bathrooms was inside our suite, so we heard the vacuum flushing noise from several cabins toilets at all hours of the day and night.

We have had two cruises in forward suites on Britannia and loved them both. The balconies are very shallow though (as are all balconies on Britannia), but we had none of the problems that we experienced at the other end of the ship.

We have also had an aft suite on Ventura, which was lovely and we have one booked on Arcadia (which, I believe, is also OK).

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A few cloths would not sort the problem! That’s very misleading advice and, as you say, you haven’t sailed in an aft cabin on Britannia. We have and never again. Shame as we love the ship and love being at the aft, but the two are not a marriage made in heaven on Britannia.

I would endorse this point of view completely. Lovely ship but never again in an aft cabin.

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We sailed on Britannia maiden voyage and never had any great problems in our aft balcony cabin if my memory serves me correct we were in C732. The cabin steward cleaned the balcony and furniture every morning as part of his routine and during the day if we wanted to sit on balcony we had a quick wipe of the chairs and table which we always do wherever we are on a ship in a balcony cabin. It certainly wasnt enough of a problem and the position and views outweighed the minor problem we had which I think you would get on any ship in aft cabins.

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We sailed on Britannia maiden voyage and never had any great problems in our aft balcony cabin if my memory serves me correct we were in C732. The cabin steward cleaned the balcony and furniture every morning as part of his routine and during the day if we wanted to sit on balcony we had a quick wipe of the chairs and table which we always do wherever we are on a ship in a balcony cabin. It certainly wasnt enough of a problem and the position and views outweighed the minor problem we had which I think you would get on any ship in aft cabins.

You were obviously lucky that the weather conditions and wind direction favoured your balcony on that occasion. As I said, we didn’t have the soot daily, but when we did there was lots and the steward couldn’t remove all of it, try as he might. You also cannot wipe it off the mesh furniture. The issue is far from common on all ships. It is, however, a known issue on Britannia. If the soot wasn’t enough to contend with we had several other issues in that location also. We did receive substantial compensation but would have much preferred to have had a hassle free holiday.

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We love aft cabins uit would NEVer again have one on Britannia. The first day it happened I used the beach towwl to wipe it up but noticed the furniture was badly stained so spoke to the steward. He turned up most days with a mask, hose and wellies. Horrible. Couldn't use the balcony at all and took it up with P&O

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Which one is it? We met the people who had the aft suite to our left and they had a wonderful time.

If I had to force myself (cough) to have an aft cabin again I would still be more than happy. Our last cruise was one of the best ever.

We have booked a corner aft on the starboard side. To be honest we have done our research and taken into account all the conflicting reviews and have decided to go for it....albeit with earplugs for the noise from the Live Lounge and the vibrations haha. We got it at a great price with a fair amount of OBC so fingers crossed :)

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We have booked a corner aft on the starboard side. To be honest we have done our research and taken into account all the conflicting reviews and have decided to go for it....albeit with earplugs for the noise from the Live Lounge and the vibrations haha. We got it at a great price with a fair amount of OBC so fingers crossed :)

Well. you seem to have done your homework so I am sure that you will have an amazing time. We met the couple who were in the aft suite below our cabin F729 so deck 6 and they had an amazing time. Apparently they did not hear the Live Lounge. If you know the issues you may face then you will have a great time. Like we said, our last cruise on Britannia last May was a wonderful last minute break. Just loved it .... despite the soot ;-)

We have also done an aft cabin on Celebrity Silhouette and there was loads of soot there too so it isn't just P&O

Have a great time

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Well. you seem to have done your homework so I am sure that you will have an amazing time. We met the couple who were in the aft suite below our cabin F729 so deck 6 and they had an amazing time. Apparently they did not hear the Live Lounge. If you know the issues you may face then you will have a great time. Like we said, our last cruise on Britannia last May was a wonderful last minute break. Just loved it .... despite the soot ;-)

We have also done an aft cabin on Celebrity Silhouette and there was loads of soot there too so it isn't just P&O

Have a great time

Thank you. I think that's the one we've booked. We can't wait and it's our first time in a suite :)

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P&O Azura in trouble again. This time their Captain is up in court in France today for burning low grade high sulphur fuel whilst cruising the Mediterranean. Hope they throw the book at P&O. Soot on balconies is due to the actions of P&O cost saving policies and too hell with the environment and the passengers - profit is what counts !

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We had A727 on Britannia in March which is a corner aft suite,lovely room,fabulous balcony,especially at sea for 5 days when we were in a suntrap sheltered by the ships superstructure while things were flying up on deck!

Yes we saw soot,never that much to be a problem,no problem with noise to any extent either just a fabulous time,we like Britannia but are spoilt now,just couldn't go back to her usual mini-balconies!!!

Access was our main bug bear at that end of the ship,the lifts are useless for anything below deck 7 & when finishing the night in the lovely Crows Nest it is one heck of a trek back to the cabin!

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We have had an aft cabin underneath the sunset bar on a TA and yes you do get occasional soot smuts but then we have also been covered in smut while idling on a lounger round the main pool area in Barbados on disembarkation day. We did have a daily clean and our steward normally did this while we were at breakfast.As others say in depends on atmospheric conditions and is not solely a P&O problem. I have also heard it said about Royal Princess

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And I was really looking forward to my aft suite on Britannia at the end of October. :(

Ignore all the bad comments - aft Suites are wonderful (as are all Suites to be honest).

We had an aft Suite on B deck late 2016 and loved it (having had one on the side in 2015). The balconies are huge compared to the side Suites - much deeper. We had a table, two chairs, two loungers and another table along with one of the Settees that used to be up near the sports court area. This was wonderful to sit on - but cover it with towels as it gets hot!

Yes, there was soot, but it can be cleaned up. I just wore one of my pairs of sandals out there. If you use the slippers provided the Butler will get new ones when they get too dirty.

Use your Butler for everything - from unpacking and packing (much easier for you and gives you more time on the day on get on and on the last day!) to booking restaurants/excursions, delivering drinks, arranging parties, etc, etc. We even had one offer to buy a lighter for us from a shop on board Aurora once as my Husband wanted to light a cigar (you could smoke on balconies then). If you get anything go wrong with the Suite ask your Butler to sort it out - don't bother ringing Reception.

Enjoy having one - you've paid for it and you don't get one at home! :):)

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To tell someone to ‘ignore’ all the comments from those of us who have had major issues with aft suites on Britannia is ridiculous. I guess some people are luckier than others, as the problems are worsened in certain atmospheric conditions than others, but we can’t all be wrong. Be clear, it isn’t just a minor inconvenience. It is like oil when it gets on skin and clothes and is a complete and utter pain.

That said, do not be deterred from aft suites on other ships. We had one on Ventura and have just returned from one on Arcadia. No problems with soot whatsoever.

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I can't remember if anyone has said tis already but you can get free laundry for soot stained clothes, even if just from sunbathing on the aft decks

The fact is it shouldn't happen and we got to the stage when we couldn't use the balcony because there was so much soot on it. P&O accepted it was a problem when we contacted them. I will say again: I strongly advise anybody who enjoys using their balcony to avoid the aft balconies on Britannia, particularly in cooler climates.

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The fact is it shouldn't happen and we got to the stage when we couldn't use the balcony because there was so much soot on it. P&O accepted it was a problem when we contacted them. I will say again: I strongly advise anybody who enjoys using their balcony to avoid the aft balconies on Britannia, particularly in cooler climates.

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Agree 100%. Only those who have been there know just what an annoyance it actually is. While it is not always an issue, it is a real gamble, one I would not be prepared to take.

Agreed - the carpets by the door, and balcony furniture looked very dirty. For a fairly new ship I was disappointed so mentioned it in the cruise questionnaire they leave after the first couple of days on the cruise. They couldn’t have tried harder to sort out, the carpets were cleaned, balcony cleaned... but that doesn’t help unfortunately as it’s all stained beyond cleaning.

If you aren’t bothered by these things then probably won’t be an issue. I did take pictures but have since deleted them as I want to remember the fantastic cruise in the Caribbean and not the black stained aft cabin.

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If you aren’t bothered by these things then probably won’t be an issue. I did take pictures but have since deleted them as I want to remember the fantastic cruise in the Caribbean and not the black stained aft cabin.

Exactly,at the end of the day you get on with it & enjoy your holiday,we loved having the space,peace & quiet & the shelter of the ships superstructure while at sea which totally outweighed any bad things.

And she isn't that new a ship now,5 years ago this month saw our first time on her & it was remarkable to us how different she looks,but then she has seen a lot of action in that time,it would be unreasonable IMO to expect her to look like new.

Somebody once told me that they weren't happy with an hotel room unless it looked like it was brand new,I can't imagine she would have been too happy too often!

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Obviously for some who have experienced it this wasn't really an issue,ourselves included

It depends on the degree to which you were affected. Personally I don’t expect or want to go on any ship and have this level of soot polluting my air and messing up my balcony and subsequently anything else it touches.

It did not stop me enjoying my holiday, it did however stop me enjoying the balcony I had paid for.